Testing of the developed software product is no less important than its development. Not all IT agencies will offer you free testing and a modification guarantee. Even if Quality Assurance is available there, it is important to know if it is a full-time team, how testers work, and how well they understand the product they are testing. We interviewed Simtech Development’s in-house testers to show you our testing in-house.
What difficulties or challenges arise when testing a modification for an eCommerce project
Here, as a rule, testers refer to the problem of communication in the team and with the client. The better the dialogue in the team and with the client is, the less likely there is a place for a misunderstanding. The tester will not have to re-check the modification tested according to the ambiguously written testing scenario, and the developer will not have to redo the code.
Yuri: Initially, when I get a task, I pay attention to the specification. If it is not there or it is written ambiguously, then there are difficulties and difficulties in implementation for the programmer and verification for the tester.
Further, I look at the task description. You may ask why? I have the specification before my eyes. But this saves the time for verification, since prior to checking a task, I need to understand it, and the description helps to get the basic logic of this functionality.
Timely communication with the programmer, manager, and the technical lead are very important also.
Valeria: The main difficulties are related to the lack of information and the necessary data for testing, but with active communication of all participants in the process, they can be resolved quite quickly.
Irina: In our work, communication with the team is very important, the tester communicates with both developers and managers, technical leads and analysts. It is important to understand what the customer wants to get in the end, and whether the main business idea is implemented. Of course, there are misunderstandings in some issues. As a rule, they are solved through discussion.
Daria: Difficulties arise with a lack of information or misunderstanding during the testing process, but with the joint efforts of all participants in the process, this can be quickly eliminated.
Tip: Be clear about your requirements and keep in touch with the development team at all times.
What are the common mistakes in software testing and development? what are they connected with?
Errors in testing and development happen but anyway testing reduces their amount. They can be very diverse. And here it is worth asking the question not about what errors occur, but what factors lead to errors in a modification. We have identified the following factors:
- Lack of time
- Complexity of modification and/or project
- Fuzzy task formulation
- Poor communication within the team and with the customer
Here’s what our testers say:
Yury: There may be mistakes in software development. It depends on whether they are critical or not. Much also depends on the time allocated for the test. With more thorough testing, you can check more critically.
Valeria: Since there are quite a lot of projects and performers, there are completely different mistakes. Some are design dependent, while others are related to specifications where the functionality being developed has not been fully analyzed. It is also important that the customer also checks the modifications on his or her own to reduce the likelihood of finding errors by QA employees.
Irina: It all depends on the complexity of the modification being developed, the complexity of the project itself, and the allocated time.
Daria: There are many factors that affect software testing, it all depends on the complexity of the task, priority, and time.
Tip: Clearly formulate the task for development. Carefully check the work performed according to the specification. If the project is complex, be prepared that it will take more time to test it.
Read also:
- How Do We Write Specifications for Software Development?
- How to Draw Up Requirements for an Ecommerce Site
What should I pay attention to when accepting work?
Quality experts urge to pay attention to such factors as:
- Working functionality: your modification performs the required functions without failure
- Specification compliance: developed code works as described in the document
- The main business idea is implemented: the business idea implied by the specification does not block or violate the main user scenarios.
Tip: To live up to the expectation, spend more time checking the specification and making sure it matches the business idea of the project. This will help you avoid developing and testing unnecessary functionality in the future, saving your and the developer’s time.
How to think through the maximum possible number of scenarios for test cases?
Our experts advise you to prepare scenarios for testing yourself in addition to what will be offered by an IT agency. By doing so, you can better analyze the outcome obtained as a result of the development. Scenarios can be divided into positive and negative ones. A happy path is a default scenario featuring no exceptional or error conditions. For example, the happy path for a function checking credit card numbers is when all validation rules are errorless. A negative – unhappy path describes what happens when the scenario is not executed. When creating test cases, use the experience of previous modifications.
Irina: Here,the goal is rather not to describe the maximum possible number of scenarios, but, first of all, to describe the customer journey taking into account the development. First you need to address the main positive test cases, then extended positive ones, and then the negative ones.
Daria: The number of test cases for each task can be different, the quantity is not always equal to the quality, the main thing is to think over positive / negative scenarios.
Tip: Always focus on the customer journey when thinking about a test case. At the same time, consider the requirements for the project, the quality criteria for the future product and the final goals of testing.
What motivates you at work?
Yury: What motivates me to work is that a high-quality modification and software will be released. Personally, I am motivated by new tasks. I can bring development to stable operation, and make the use of a new modification more convenient for the end users. Happy clients, successful business, and satisfied end users motivate me at work.
Valeria: Studying new things, continuous development, successful completion of tested tasks, interaction with all the development participants.
Irina: The developers create a product, and we help them improve the quality. It’s nice to be part of the team when creating something new and useful.
Daria: Constant development, study, successful testing of tasks motivate me together with the result of producing good and high-quality products.
They provide a 100-day after-sales warranty. Therefore, if something goes wrong, I’m calm. That’s why when something goes wrong, I don’t worry
Asad Bashir, our client
Closing
In our company, all modifications are tested by the quality assurance department. We give a 100-day guarantee after the delivery of work, so our customers are not afraid to cooperate with us.